Michael B Druxman

UNCLE LOUIE is an original screenplay by Michael B. Druxman.If Damon Runyon had written THE KARATE KID, it might've turned out like this, because Uncle Louie is an aging fugitive from GUYS AND DOLLS. When he comes to Los Angeles to live with the nephew that he hasn't seen in thirty years, he meets Andy, his grand nephew. Andy is a likable high school student who loves playing his guitar, but also has some problems. Inadvertently, the youth has incurred the wrath of a local drug dealer. And, even though he has his own troubles with an East Coast Mafia chieftain plus the F.B.I., Louie takes it upon himself to help the boy find himself. This screenplay has action, laughs and also a few warm tears along the way.

A one-person play about the life and times of Spencer Tracy. Acting edition]"No pussyfooting around, no beating around George Bush, TRACY is great." -- Las Virgines News Enterprise"Michael B. Druxman's piece is by no means the nasty expose that has come to be the fashion in so many recent Hollywood biographies. He shows Tracy reacting with human frailties...but it's mostly an admiring look at the man." -- Los Angeles Daily NewsHe's been called "the best film actor Hollywood has ever known". His marvelous performances in classic movies like CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, ADAM'S RIB, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK and INHERIT THE WIND endowed him with a tough, solid humorous image -- one that was totally at odds with his own personality.The play opens in 1967 when Tracy was in poor health and struggling to complete what would be his final film, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER. Alone in his rented guest cottage, he reflects with great guilt on his days as a rough street kid in Milwaukee; his troubled marriage; his drinking problem; the birth of his deaf son; and his romances with Loretta Young and Katharine Hepburn.TRACY is a vivid, often witty, portrait.

From Broadwayto Hollywood MICHAEL B. DRUXMAN Combining as it does the elements of drama, comedy, music, dance, photography, and design, the film musical is a unique and favored genre, with, it would seem, almost unlimited possibilities for artistic expression and satisfying entertainment. This potential has, at times, been realized with particular success. Some of the best-loved films in motion-picture history have been musicals. And, with the exception of several MGM originals and a few of the show-business biographies, the most admired musical films have been those adapted from the stage. Of the seven musicals that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture, four-West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, and Oliver -had their origins in the theatre. However, the transfer of a production from stage to screen is, to say the least, a precarious affair. Many of Broadway's most successful shows have bombed on celluloid. Why does this happen?In an attempt to answer that question, film writer Michael B. Druxman here provides an excellent survey of the movie musical, focusing on twenty-five musicals adapted from the stage. The films span three decades, and hits as well as flops are included. What happens when a musical play is adapted from the stage to the screen? Should the resulting film be a carbon copy of the play, or is it better to utilize the screen's greater flexibility to create a new, original, and completely different work of art? Can one go too far in this direction, and by tampering with a script divest an established hit of the appealing qualities that made it popular in the first place? Or, is it true that, as Norman Jewison said in speaking of his enormously popular film, Fiddler on the Roof, "A bad musical film is one that sticks to the play"?On the other hand, can a movie version that is too imaginative and opulent distract audiences from the plot and score and smother a production that was successful in the theatre? More specifically, how did the producers and/or directors of the films highlighted in this volume approach their material? How were the productions received? These and other important questions regarding movie musicals are dealt with extensively herein.Some of the films treated at length are Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Oklahoma , Guys and Dolls, Carousel, Pal Joey, Damn Yankees, Porgy and Bess, Gypsy, Finian's Rainbow, Cabaret, Man of La Mancha, and Jesus Christ Superstar. A full chapter is devoted to each film; plots, characters, songs, musical scores, stars (singers, actors, dancers), directors, producers, composers, costumes, sets, choreography-all are given their due. In addition to the twenty-five chapters on individual movies, there is a background introduction to the genre.And, of course, there are photographs-over 200 of them All the twenty-five musicals discussed in detail are well represented, but there are over 50 stills from other musical films as well-from The Vagabond King (1930) to Hair (1979).

"Fascinating An Intimate Biography... An Insight Into A Whole Era Of Entertainment "--The Hollywood Reporter Merv Griffin had a way with stars.They loved him, and he'd given that "big break" to countless young hopefuls who became major celebrities, including Sonny and Cher, Dick Cavett, Richard Pryor, and Tony Orlando and Dawn.Merv was one of America's best-loved TV personalities. Millions of fans were hooked on his sincerity, his intelligence and his showmanship. Merv worked hard to get to the top.Here is the true public, private and on-stage life of the man who won the hearts of America.

"Fascinating An Intimate Biography... An Insight Into A Whole Era Of Entertainment "--The Hollywood Reporter Merv Griffin had a way with stars.They loved him, and he'd given that "big break" to countless young hopefuls who became major celebrities, including Sonny and Cher, Dick Cavett, Richard Pryor, and Tony Orlando and Dawn.Merv was one of America's best-loved TV personalities. Millions of fans were hooked on his sincerity, his intelligence and his showmanship. Merv worked hard to get to the top.Here is the true public, private and on-stage life of the man who won the hearts of America.

When you think of Jason Robards, you also think of Eugene O'Neill and the tragic, hard-drinking characters he created in THE ICEMAN COMETH, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, HUGHIE and THE MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN. Indeed, although they never met, Robards is the most celebrated interpreter of the revered playwright. Robards, the son of a failed actor, Jason Robards Sr., discovered O'Neill's plays when he was in the Navy during WW2. After the war, without his father's encouragement, he pursued his own acting career, but it was eleven years and two failed marriages before he finally achieved success, playing "Hickey" in an acclaimed revival of THE ICEMAN COMETH.Films, more stage plays, and another failed marriage (to Lauren Bacall) followed, before his drinking, a major career disappointment, and his "ghosts" resulted in a near-fatal automobile accident.Michael B. Druxman's two-person play, JASON ROBARDS AT THE OLD PLACE, is the story of a remarkable survival. It joins the actor just prior to that fateful accident, following his path to recovery, and his winning two Oscars (for ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and JULIA), as well as other honors.2 men; 1 set.

"The important thing is to do good work, no matter what medium you do it in." - Roy ScheiderHe's been called "the Humphrey Bogart of the 1970s" and "the thinking man's action hero". He was nominated twice for the Academy Award, and appeared in such bona-fide film classics as THE FRENCH CONNECTION, KLUTE, MARATHON MAN, ALL THAT JAZZ and, of course, JAWS. A native of New Jersey, Roy Scheider was his own man. He did his work well, and was not afraid to butt heads with producers and directors with whom he disagreed, even to the detriment of his career. Michael B. Druxman's ROY SCHEIDER & THE BIGGER BOAT finds the actor in 1999 during a lull in his career. He hasn't done a major film for several years, as he ponders how he can change his luck.

Audrey Hepburn was not your usual movie star. She was the highest paid actress of her day, yet she never took a formal acting lesson.A child of war, and the daughter of a Fascist sympathizer, she spent her last years helping children of other wars.An Academy Award-winner for her first major film role (ROMAN HOLIDAY), Hepburn continued her storybook career with such classic movies as SABRINA, FUNNY FACE, THE NUN'S STORY, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, CHARADE, MY FAIR LADY and WAIT UNTIL DARK.Her two marriages ended in divorce.Michael B. Druxman's one-woman play, MISS AUDREY HEPBURN, is set in 1990. It finds the semi-retired actress in her home in Switzerland, filming a television commercial for UNICEF. It's not going well, and during a break, she ponders her life and the "ghosts" that still haunt her.

CHILDREN $ GANGSTERS & NAZIS OH, MY Set in 1939 New York, this wonderfully warm and funny Damon Runyonesque-like piece deals with Addie Russell, a lady nightclub owner, who takes under her wing two orphaned Jewish refugee children. The children are in the country illegally and are also being pursued by a Nazi agent because, unknown to them, they have in their possession a vital piece of microfilm. The story is populated with nasty gangsters, comic gangsters and, of course, a handsome F.B.I. man to serve as Addie's romantic interest. If you enjoyed GUYS AND DOLLS and the lighthearted Warner Brothers gangster films (like A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER and BROTHER ORCHID) of the late thirties, then this one should delight you.

A deranged actor is loose, and, one-by-one, he's murdering all of the major movie stars in Hollywood. An older cop and the husband/personal manager of one of the killer's next victims join forces to capture him. The exciting climax takes place at the Academy Awards ceremony, where, armed with automatic weapons and hand grenades, the killer plans to waste the celebrity-filled audience.An original screenplay.

Gary Cooper was a Hollywood icon whose career spanned over thirty-five years. Many of his films, including MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN, SERGEANT YORK, THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES and HIGH NOON, are still revered by audiences and critics well over half a century after his death. On screen, "Coop" may have been America's staunch "hero," but in private life, he was anything but that. A man of indecision, he enjoyed torrid romances with the likes of Clara Bow, Lupe Velez and Ingrid Bergman, as well as a three-year relationship with actress Patricia Neal, which almost brought an end to his marriage. Michael B. Druxman's GARY COOPER AT HIGH NOON finds the 50-year-old actor at a critical point in his life. Dealing with health issues and no longer a major box-office draw, he has accepted the role in HIGH NOON at a fraction of his usual fee, and now, as he sits in his dressing room, he ponders his deteriorating bond with Patricia Neal, as well as what to do about his friend, Carl Foreman, the screenwriter of HIGH NOON who is about to be blacklisted. Gary Cooper has reached a point in his life where he must make a life-changing choice.

Chicago, 1962: A massive storm has hit the Windy City, grounding all aircraft.In the V.I.P. Lounge of the Chicago airport, legendary comedians Milton Berle, Joe E. Brown and Bert Lahr are forced to linger together until the weather clears. Berle and Brown are on their way to California; slated to film their scenes in Stanley Kramer's comedy, IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD, while Lahr has just finished a disastrous tryout of a new play in the Yukon.Now, as the trio waits, old resentments, personal frustrations and insecurities rise to the surface, making the job of the young airline attendant assigned to the lounge, who just happens to be an aspiring comedian, anything but peaceful.CLOWNS ON THE GROUND is a probing, often funny, look at three men who could always make us laugh, despite their own personal pain.4 Men; 1 Woman. Single Set.

Clifton Webb was one of those rare motion picture actors who became a major box-office star when he was in his mid-fifties. Indeed, his first sound movie was LAURA (1944), and his role as "Waldo Lydecker" in that classic film noir earned him the first of three Oscar nominations. Four years later, Clifton Webb became a household name when he played "Lynn Belvedere" and poured a bowl of mush onto a baby's head in SITTING PRETTY. He would appear as "Belvedere" in two subsequent films, and also star in such memorable entertainments as THE RAZOR'S EDGE, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER, TITANIC (1953) and THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN.Webb was no novice when he began his motion picture career. He started his journey in show business at age five, when his stage mother, Maybelle, left her husband in Indiana and took young Clifton to New York. Maybelle would remain the most important and influential person in her son's life until she died when Webb was in his seventies. Over the years, Webb would become one of the most revered actor-dancers in nightclubs, on Broadway; in London and Paris. He introduced Irving Berlin's "Easter Parade" to the public, and worked with the likes of Noel Coward, Fred Allen and The Dolly Sisters, as well as enjoying troubled relationships with actresses Jeanne Eagels and Libby Holman.Michael B. Druxman's one-person play, CLIFTON WEBB, finds the actor in his Beverly Hills home, still mourning the death of his mother. He ponders returning to work in a new film while, at the same time, struggling with his and Maybelle's unsettled relationship.

Beefy, gravel-voiced Broderick Crawford was a tough guy with a heart of gold.The scion of a vaudeville family, he initially shunned his parents' profession, but came to realize that show business was in his blood. Success, however, did not come easy.Even after he was acclaimed on Broadway as "Lennie" in the stage production of John Steinbeck's OF MICE AND MEN, important roles eluded him. Indeed, he spent a decade in Hollywood playing supporting parts as gangsters, cops, Western outlaws and "Lennie-like" characters in unimportant pictures. His luck changed in 1949 when he won an Academy Award for his performance in ALL THE KING'S MEN, and he followed that with an equally high-profile film, BORN YESTERDAY. Major roles in other films ensued, but Crawford would reach the pinnacle of his fame in 1955 when he starred as "Chief Dan Matthews" in the popular syndicated television series, HIGHWAY PATROL. BRODERICK CRAWFORD is a three-character play that looks in on the actor during two different periods in his later life, as he attempts to deal with his inner demons: his addiction to alcohol and the "ghosts" of his late, fault-finding parents who continually invade his consciousness. 2 Men, 1 Woman; Single Set.

"I collect antiques, earrings, old music and men" - Yvonne De CarloBack in the day, Yvonne De Carlo was "The Queen of Technicolor" and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World". She co-starred with the likes of Clark Gable, Rock Hudson, Burt Lancaster, Van Heflin, Joel McCrea and John Wayne in a series of forgettable, albeit successful, Westerns, pirate movies, and she also played her fair share of shady ladies and slave girls. Yet today, Yvonne is best remembered for her role as the wife of Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, and probably even more so, as Lily Munster.YVONNE DE CARLO, Michael B. Druxman's one-woman play, is set in 1974 when the actress is at an emotional crossroads. As she contemplates divorcing her husband of eighteen years, she remembers the events that have brought her to this point in her life, beginning with a fatherless childhood in Vancouver, B. C., and a destitute mother intent on making her daughter a ballet star. She further reminisces about the many men who have passed through her life, including romances with the likes of Howard Hughes and Aly Khan.Yvonne's often humorous story is also one of love, passion, loss and near tragedy.

Ida Lupino was a trail-blazer.Not only was she one of the most vibrant Hollywood actresses of the 1940s and 1950s, starring in such film classics as THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, HIGH SIERRA, THE SEA WOLF, LADIES IN RETIREMENT, ROAD HOUSE, LUST FOR GOLD and THE BIG KNIFE, but she was also only the second woman to become a member of the Director's Guild.As an independent writer-producer-director, her bold films dealt with subjects that the major Hollywood studios were afraid to tackle: out-of-wedlock mothers, polio and rape. Her 1953 directorial effort, THE HITCH-HIKER, is a benchmark of the film noir genre. Ida's personal life was not easy. The daughter of a British theatrical family that stretched back generations, she moved to Hollywood while still in her teens, languishing in mediocre films until she garnered the role of a mad woman of the streets in director William Wellman's THE LIGHT THAT FAILED. She was also married three times: to actor Louis Hayward, producer Collier Young and the longest, certainly the stormiest union of them all, to actor Howard Duff.Michael B. Druxman's one-woman play, IDA: THE LAST LUPINO, joins Ida in 1983 when she is living alone in her decaying Brentwood home as a virtual hermit, lamenting the break-up of her marriage with Duff. IDA: THE LAST LUPINO is a vivid, often witty, portrait of a woman who conquered a man's world.

JAWS In A Cave Following an earthquake, tourists have begun to disappear in the Lorenzo Caverns. The FBI claims that a bear is the culprit, but the local sheriff and an esteemed archeologist suspect that the missing people have become the victims of a bloodthirsty alien creature.

"DIE HARD" Meets "POLTERGEIST" in Edinburgh Castle A group of mercenaries, bent on ransoming both Edinburgh Castle and its Crown Jewels, seize the fortress. Their plan is foolproof, ingenious, but what they don't count on is the interference of a retired Army sergeant, now a tour guide, a young soldier, and the ghosts of the castle, who, once released, roam about seeking a bloody revenge for past injustices.